2013 Keeper of the Flame Award: Rep. Bill Young

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Center Honors Great Legislator, Extraordinary General
Dinner Pays Tribute to the Late Rep. C.W. ‘Bill’ Young, Former Commandant Al Gray

Washington, DC:  On October 23, 2013, the Center for Security Policy celebrated the dedicated service to our country of the late Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee C.W. “Bill” Young and former Marine Corps Commandant Alfred M. Gray, Jr. at its annual Keeper of the Flame Award Dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC.  The Flame Award was presented posthumously to Representative Young, who died last Friday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland bringing to an end his twenty-two terms as the representative of the people of the Thirteenth Congressional District of Florida.  Gen. Gray received the Center’s Freedom Shield Award.

During the reception prior to the dinner, Rep. Hal Rogers, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee honored his fallen colleague with a touching and very personal tribute.  And in the course of the evening program, General James Jones, USMC, (Ret.), the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, former National Security Advisor to President Obama and a recipient in his own right of the Keeper of the Flame Award, described the myriad contributions to the men and women of America’s armed forces made by Rep. Young in the course of his decades as a self-effacing, but highly influential and productive legislator.  The Flame Award was accepted on behalf of the Young family by the Vice Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen.  In his brief but moving remarks, Rep. Frelinghuysen also highlighted Chairman Young’s fierce loyalty to our troops noting that, “He supported soldiers when they needed help the most.”

After dinner, General James Amos, the current Commandant of the Marine Corps, also expressed appreciation for Chairman Young’s steadfast support of the Marines and their sister services.  He then described the historic contribution made to the Marine Corps and the country by his predecessor as the 29^th Commandant of Marines, Gen. Gray. Gen. Amos highlighted in particular the indelible mark left on the Corps as a result of the intellectual renaissance Al Gray sparked during the late 1980s and early ’90s through his emphasis on maneuver warfare and the education and reading required for his Marines to practice it decisively.

In accepting the “Freedom’s Shield,” General Gray, USMC (Ret) joined in the appreciation of Rep. Young’s impact on his own life and the condition and morale of the U.S. military.

Center for Security Policy President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. said of the evening:  “Chairman Young passing was as untimely as it was regrettable.  It was a great privilege for the Center for Security Policy to be able to honor him in death rather than, as we had hoped, in life and to do so in the company of so many patriots and outstanding leaders in the national security field.  We are deeply grateful to the Young family and to Gen. Gray for allowing us to celebrate such heroes and to all those who made the evening simply unforgettable.”